French songwriter Léonie Pernet can tackle the most powerful, provocative issues in the most beautifully unaffected manner.
Lyrical subject matter ranges from the refugee crisis to the everyday oppression women face in modern society, but it's delivered in such a beguiling, sensual manner.
New album 'Crave' is out now, with Léonie Pernet set to play two highly intimate shows in London this week.
Alongside this, Léonie is ready to share new song 'Auaati', a song about repression, and the persistence of the human spirit to create.
Hanaa Ouassim collaborates with the songwriter, while Lesly Lynch translates the song to a New York setting for the video.
The clip traces the story of Léonie Pernet and Seyyal, a woman from Darfour, who fled her country with her family to settle down in America.
Lesly Lynch explains…
“It was something really important not to lie by making up a character that maybe was just fantasized. Two women who are free to live the way they want, free to pray the God they want, free to love each other the way they want to in a society that does not always allow them to be who they really are.”
“To create this expression of feelings and to visually represent islamophobia, I created a video that became the canvas of a deeper statement to question the place of queer people on the Middle East’s culture but most importantly, the place of Muslims in America in Trump’s era. And this, highlighting the impact that Trump’s politic and the Travel ban’s he established can have.”
“It is to translate that impact on the screen that I created that relationship between these two characters. When Léonie is alone, the camera’s movements are straight but when she is with Seyyal, the camera is alive, following natural movements. Blending both creates a roller coaster of emotions.”
Tune in now.
Catch Léonie Pernet at the following shows:
January
10 London The Waiting Room
11 London Rough Trade East
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